Between Dockweiler Beach and the endless runways of LAX, a piece of history remains untouched and unnoticed by both locals and tourists. Fenced in and with no houses in sight, only a few streetlights and stop signs stand as silent reminders of the neighborhood’s bustling past.
Palisades del Rey, better known as Surfridge, was an exclusive neighborhood that emerged in the 1920s and was marketed as “an isolated playground for the wealthy.” Among its most notable residents were Hollywood legends like filmmaker and actor Cecil B. DeMille and Charles Bickford.
Although development slowed during the Great Depression, wealthy buyers started purchasing lots in the early 1930s to build large homes. By the 1950s, the neighborhood was fully developed, with houses and apartment buildings filling the area. Back then, real estate developers asked for a hefty $50 down payment plus 36 monthly installments of $20 to live in this exclusive spot…
So how did a wealthy seaside neighborhood turn into a ghost town? In 1928, around the same time Surfridge construction began, Mines Field, a small nearby airport, opened and became a popular spot for locals to watch air shows.
After World War II, commercial flights increased, and more planes began flying low over the neighborhood. While residents tolerated the noise of propeller planes, the arrival of loud jet engines in the late 1950s made everyday life difficult.
By the 1960s and 70s, the City of Los Angeles used eminent domain to buy out the neighborhood, aiming to expand LAX and address noise concerns. Although some homeowners resisted and took legal action, most eventually sold or lost their homes and left “willingly.” All the houses were either relocated or demolished, leaving Surfridge a ghost town.
The once-thriving neighborhood now serves as a protected habitat for the endangered El Segundo blue butterfly. In 2019, several rare burrowing owls were spotted nesting within the preserve. California gnatcatchers also thrive among the restored sand dunes. The only part of the former neighborhood open to the public is Vista Del Mar Park, a small playground and picnic area on Vista Del Mar Boulevard.